Part of Starbase Bravo: Look Upwards

The Consequence of Choice

Brew, Starbase Bravo
06.2402
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Log stroked his chin as he mused on the seemingly endless variety of options on offer at Brew’s long counter. A freshly shaved Deltan would outmatch the small outcropping of hair, but he twirled the bare wisps with long performative twists of his stumpy fingers. Behind the counter, the holographic barista waited patiently, unbothered by the fact that her smile had been waiting for several arduous minutes.

“I heard the Chai is good, someone said it was fresh from Earth? But Adira also said the Ferengi blend was something special.” Log sucked his teeth. “So many options.”

“You enjoyed the Colombian roast last time.” The calm smiling hologram reminded, for a second, it seemed her face flustered, but microseconds later it was back to an almost rictus grin.

“You’re right, I should play it safe.”

The queue behind Log breathed a communal sigh of relief.

“Milk preference?” The hologram asked, before a quiet algorithm deep in its code could scream that it was a bad idea to offer more choices.

“Oh dear, now you’re asking.” Log lifted his hand back to his chin when a voice appeared over his shoulder. As soon as he heard it, he froze, then slowly turned to see a familiar human in a clean red cadet uniform. It was Cadet Davidson. The permutations of this re-encounter with the young cadet could only mean one thing…

“You might want to try the Bolian Blossom, sir. I hear it’s supposed to be calming, a bit acidic though.” Log wanted to blurt out a response, but could only cough a pained wheeze into his hand.

Will, for his part, had only coffee on the mind, one of the traits that he knew for sure he inherited from his father, not his mother. He thought back to her watching over his school studies at home, sipping her camomile tea, reminiscing about how much of a prodigious coffee drinker his old man was, at least, that he was before his passing.

The thought of such an unwelcome reminder made a small frown creep across the cadet’s face. Log noticed it immediately.

“I’m not sure your face agrees with your recommendation, cadet.” Log feigned ignorance, the thought of their prior encounter graffitied on the backs of his eyelids. Perhaps the young man had managed to retrieve his lost data, perhaps he hadn’t put two and two together. Log’s proximity to the data node that had housed his coursework could easily be explained away as a coincidence.

And perhaps Ferengi could fly.

“I’d heard that the blossoms are grown semi-submerged along the coasts of Bolarus,” he mused, desperate to keep the conversation turning towards something more accusatory.

Will chuckled. “Oh really? Well, I wouldn’t know about that.”

He glanced sideways towards the Barista, the hologram took the hint and dutifully began preparing a Bolian Blossom for each of them. The two stood in silence, only broken by the gentle hiss of steam as the beverages prepared themselves in the background.

“I figured it was a mistake. It could have happened to anyone. It didn’t affect my grade, don’t worry.”

Will folded his arms and gave the Tellarite a firm stare. Log’s ears twitched with nerves.

“I don’t envy the pressure you’re under, so I wanted to extend an olive branch…or a serving of Blossom?”

The drinks arrived, placed on top of the counter in front of them with mechanical precision. Will picked up his own and lifted it up to toast his colleague.

Log was overtaken with a stillness that would make statues envious, even the minute hairs on his stubby pointed ears froze in panic. There is no way the young cadet could possibly know his hand was involved in the missing lecture notes. Besides, he had managed to restore the data in just two shift cycles. He couldn’t possibly know Log was involved, unless he was incredibly smart.

Log’s deep-set eyes dared a glance up and down the man, who continued to meet his gaze.

Starfleet was famous for taking in smart people.

“The coursework is hard. Did you have a problem?” He wondered aloud with a nonchalance thinner than the steam rising from the remaining cup on the counter. The holographic barista was already moving away to serve the next customer, leaving the pair alone at the corner of the small wooden countertop. He could hear the thin, icy voice of Maine in his ear after one fateful encounter aboard Nestus.

‘Always answer with questions.’ The surprisingly secretive man had advised.

“Did you find Interspecies Protocol particularly difficult?” Log mused as he lifted his cup to his lips and sipped in the deliciously scented beverage.

Will raised his cup slightly, his eyes narrowing in response to the question.

“Not especially, at least after I found my notes.” He let the words hang in the air for a bit before taking a sip of the tea. The peculiar tang made his face contort slightly, but he didn’t comment on the flavour of the brew.

“I always thought Tellarite customs were more straightforward,” he commented, setting the cup down. “I thought there was a preference for cutting through lengthy debates and getting straight to the point, rather than favouring obfuscation and deception.”

The two stood there awkwardly for a few moments. A soft acoustic guitar provided some untimely background ambience as Will tried to swallow down the bitter taste in his mouth.

“Actually, the school of Bohlees Dveg argues that obfuscation is a perfectly reasonable avenue for debate on the condition that one does not engage in outright deceit.” Log found his lips moving before his brain, the good schoolboy at his father’s knee bubbling up from beneath the engineer. Long evenings and even longer afternoons had been spent sitting on an uncomfortable chair, shuffled up to the end of his father’s hardwood desk, where case files and prescience had been unfurled with great ceremony.

“Though Dinnisin Crohl says that anything but the complete and honest truth is an insult to the rhetorical form.” A mist descended on Log’s eyes, a sudden and unexpected longing for his father’s office disarming his earlier panic.

Will watched the change in Log’s expression and let the silence stretch out just a little longer.

The young cadet smiled. “In any case, it sounds like you had a good teacher.”

Log blinked for a second as the fog retreated. Will chuckled as he picked up his cup again, the bitterness fought against his taste buds, and he firmly decided against finishing the cup. The holographic barista swept past again, collecting a variety of discarded cups, Will’s included.

“Well, I’d better be getting back to my studies. It was good to see you again, Ensign.

The cadet gave him a polite nod and began to leave, then turned around and gave Log a sinister glare.

“I didn’t file anything formal, if that’s what you’re worried about.” The menace from Will’s glare evaporated into a mischievous smile as he departed.

Log turned back to the barista, maybe it would be worth trying the Ferengi blend after all…

Comments

  • FrameProfile Photo

    Heheheh well done you two.

    July 12, 2025